English Explanatory Dictionary

plesiosaur

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Any of the order †Plesiosauria of extinct marine reptiles, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

Pronunciation

/ˈpliːsiəsɔːɹ/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-plesiosaur.wav

Word forms

plesiosaur plesiosaurs

Etymology

Backformation of translingual Plesiosaurus, named by William Conybeare and Henry De la Beche in 1824 because plesiosaurs were more like a normal reptile than Ichthyosaurus, which had been found in the same rock strata a few years earlier. Surface derivation, plesio- + -saur.

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